Apparently there is something exciting coming from TeamGOP soon

We are excited about some news that will be coming out later this week. It will be great for TeamGOP, great for Republican politics in Tennessee, and will give the TeamGOP haters just one more reason to rant and rave about this little unimportant insignificant group at their next meeting of the Flat Earth Society!

I’m picking on their syntax, but it sounds as though TeamGOP admits its collective belief that Columbus was in fact wrong. Perhaps the big news “later this week” will be that Copernicus is full of it. I for one can hardly wait.

I saw what our ambassador said earlier, and knew some liberal blogger somewhere would jump on it. I have my wish with Kos. Richard Bolton noted that the United Nations were preoccupied. Here’s Kos’ take

What is the bizarre preoccupation these guys have with sex? Really? Sex is one of the UN’s primary problems? I’d think it might have something to do with the fact that the world’s greatest power refuses to participate in a meaningful way in any international effort or to recognize international law or the Geneva Conventions or to sign onto critical international treaties. But maybe that’s just me.

Uh, man, that’s the problem. Of course this is the errant liberal belief that the Republican problem with Bill Clinton was sex , instead of honesty or lying under oath, or obstruction of justice. Bolton believes that the United Nations is more of a playground than an international political vehicle. It’s not that it’s sex – it could be a preoccupation with Texas Hold ‘Em. It doesn’t really matter. Bolton’s point is that the UN is worthless. The real objection is that this isn’t really news.

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I should have written this before Bob did. It’s a shame Larry Daughtery doesn’t know that Doug Henry has significant opposition – I mean, I do, and it’s obvious that Larry doesn’t read blogs.

For the record, Bob has quite the campaign put together. But the odds are that Henry won’t be running again. If he does, I’ll be terribly surprised.

Look no further for an answer than the BBC

The Democrats need a message and a new way of communicating that message to a mass audience. They have neither.

And do not be fooled by those who say this malaise is structural, at this stage of the electoral cycle there isn’t a presidential candidate etc.

No, it is more than that. The American left has faded away.

Only their bumper stickers remain, like cockroaches after a nuclear holocaust.

“Re-defeat George Bush,” they whine. Not knowing, not caring that the world has changed.

Well, dealing with reality has not as-of-late been a very Democratic quality.

It has become apparent that even with the most modern of technology, Democrats in Florida cannot run elections. Apparently, George W. Bush would have won Florida by even more votes than he did in 2004 if not for faulty electioneering and extra votes in Palm Beach County.

From a Pew Research Center survey

The survey of more than 3,000 adults found that 47 percent of conservative Republicans are “very happy,” as are 45 percent of moderate/liberal Republicans. But only 28 percent of liberal Democrats say they are very happy, as do 31 percent of conservative/moderate Democrats. Among Independents, 29 percent are very happy.

…

“This finding is niftily self-reinforcing,” quips syndicated columnist George F. Will, reporting on the survey. “It depresses liberals.”

I have my personal thoughts as to why this is – I’m curious as to what some of our readers think.

(thanks to Mark Rose for the link)

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Wizbang has the following take on the UAE ports deal

To sum up: right now the biggest concern we ought to have right now is Iran’s headlong rush to acquire nuclear weapons. And the UAE sits right on the Strait of Hormuz, the chokepoint of the Persian Gulf. Keeping very close ties with the UAE is critical. And Dubai Ports World has a very good record of managing ports.

So I think that the potential risks in letting DPW take over managing six of our ports are minimal, while the benefits to be gained are tremendous. I can even get over being on the same side of the issue as Jimmy Carter.

But any time Hillary Clinton, Pat Buchanan, and Big Labor are all agreeing on an issue, I think that’s almost enough to sway my opinion to the opposite.

The point makes sense, but I still feel there’s even more to know. Being on good terms with relatively moderate Muslin nations is a good thing. However, the details here are still sketchy. Merely “changing management” doesn’t exactly strike me with a large degree of comfort.

Nathan and I both took a word test to determine how “Southern” our speech is. The test is called Are You a Yankee or a Rebel?

I scored “53% Dixie — just barely Dixie”. Guess that is what comes from growing up in a border state.

Nathan scored “83% Dixie — are you still using Confederate money?” There’s some Tennessee and Georgia breeding for you!

If I just start saying “Coke” instead of “soda” and “crawdad” instead of “crawfish”, I’ll be on my way to more legitimate Rebel Talk!

Metro schools supposedly don’t have enough money, and school board members lament the decision of the voters to reject a sales tax increase “for the children”. However, these elected advocates for our children seem to be unaware of federal money that is going unused by Metro schools.

As stated by a director of one of the tutoring companies available with the federal funding:

“I honestly think [MNPS] are micro-managing which providers parents get to choose,” he said. “They don’t have a clue. Many [MNPS officials don’t] even know that children in failing schools had an option to transfer to another school or avail free after-school tutorial services.”

MNPS officials could not be reached for comment.

Another reason to be pleased with my vote against the sales tax increase.

Today I was singing to Catherine from a CD of “Favorite Kids Songs” and I made an effort to introduce her to her family roots on both sides of the tree. So, she heard both “Dixie” and “Yankee Doodle Dandy” several times. To instill a knowledge of regional geography, I sang “Oh, Susanna” and “The Erie Canal”. Once she picks her favorites, Nathan and I can determine whether we need to teach her about the Civil War or the War of Northern Aggression.

I was happy that she passed gas during “The Wheels on the Bus”. I’ll take that as a sign that I can take the horrible song out of rotation.

She also really likes the second verse of “Express Yourself” by Salt ‘n’ Pepa (the verse featuring Pepa!). Perhaps she’s impressed by her mom’s ability to rap with style and from memory!

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I wish that I could be contributing to the blog more than I have been in recent weeks. Catherine has decided that sleeping all day is overrated and therefore leaves me less time to write, let alone keep up with housework. She turned one month yesterday. We’ll be looking at colleges before we know it!

I had to comment on an advertisement in the weekly News Herald for Donelson/Hermitage. The ad was paid for by “The Eastern Front” and is a continuing part of a series. The ads are obviously paid for by Harold White’s cronies, and today’s submission starts with the following:

“What is the difference, if any, in a developer putting money into a politician’s campaign fund while asking for special consideration and the arm-twisting tactics done by black councilmen to get other ‘black’ financial considerations in the Sounds Baseball deal?”

Way to attempt the legitimization of backstabbing your constituents! I can think of a couple of differences between the two instances mentioned by The Eastern Front. First, there is no evidence that the black members of Metro Council took financial bribes in return for legislation. I don’t agree with the need to hire minority contractors, but I don’t think the agenda of the black councilmen is based on personal financial gain. Second, Harold White deceived the voters of his district and lied about his intentions concerning development. The black caucus in the Council has always been consistent in their views and objectives. When you vote for these members, you know what you are getting. You can make your decision with honest information before you.

I also like the second paragraph of the ad, which reads,

“Money is money, whether it is green, white or black!”

Ah, the race card … play to the bigots, Mr. White!

The Eastern Front can be contacted at afood4thought@msn.com. I plan to email them today and ask if perhaps some of Harold White’s campaign money is now being used for this attempt at character rehabilitation. More to come …

This just in – the homeless don’t like the cold.

What, oh what would we do without The Tennessean every morning?

Our local band wonders aloud why the Congress isn’t moving to impeach Bush because of a poll. That’s right. A poll. Further, we find that some voters are angry – therefore impeachment is the only option.

I never thought that hyperbole could replace critical thought and wholly consume an ideology. We live, and we learn.

I know that our faithful readers have been waiting with bated breath for our arrival (okay, well, maybe one of you was), but we got back late last night. In order not to be wasteful (and of course, to save the planet) we turned off the heat while we were away…needless to say, it was very, very cold in our home.

Speaking of cold, Blogging for Bryant has apparently been marching in a very determined fashion over this “fraud” pseudo-scandal in Chattanooga, further proving that the perfect is the enemy of the good. Here’s the big lead. The succeeding mayor recalls speaking to then-Mayor Corker about lavish spending in city government, an investigation by said succeeding mayor uncovers employees who are now being prosecuted and fired, and…no one has found any connection at all to Bob Corker. But that doesn’t stop B4B

On Feb. 11, 2006, the Chattanooga Times Free Press reported that a major, ongoing investigation of Chattanooga city departments, undertaken by Mayor Ron Littlefield since taking office at the end of Mayor Corker’s term, has so far resulted in the firing, resignation, or retirement of five city employees – two of whom have been arrested and charged with theft. Mayor Littlefield said that, as a City Councilman, he warned then-Mayor Bob Corker of “lavish spending” and that “I just reported it and left it up to them to deal with. If they dealt with it, it was still going on when I came into office.” And, Chattanooga City Councilman Leamon Pierce said that “in hindsight” there was fraud that occurred under Mr. Corker’s watch.

What did Bob Corker know? When did he know it? What did he do about it?

The key part was that Littlefield believes that Corker may have dealt with it, and because these apparently were rather greedy and determined thieves, when Corker left office, it was still ongoing. The tag line there reeks of Watergate. If Ed Bryant and his blogging cohorts want to pretend that Bob Corker is Richard Nixon, and tune their attacks as such, they’re going to lose the primary.

Oh yeah – for awhile we were told that this primary was all about being a true conservative. At least from my perspective, attempting to bolster one’s position by making mountains out of mole hills is a bit off-message. This seems more like something Van would jump on than Ed.

I meant to blog about this before, but we had a laptop malfunction at the Moore household, and timeliness became a problem. But fortunately, Mayor Nagin of New Orleans has provided me another opportunity

Mayor Ray Nagin apologized Tuesday for a Martin Luther King Day speech in which he predicted that New Orleans would be a “chocolate” city once more and asserted that “God was mad at America.”

“I said some things that were totally inappropriate. … It shouldn’t have happened,” Nagin said, explaining he was caught up in the moment as he spoke to mostly black spectators, many of them fearful of being shut out of the city’s rebuilding.

During the speech Monday, Nagin, who is black, said that the hurricanes that hit the nation in quick succession were a sign of God’s anger toward the United States and toward black communities, too, for their violence and infighting. He also said New Orleans has to be a mostly black city again because “it’s the way God wants it to be.”

Sounds to me like Mayor Nagin is a poorly devised clone of John Rocker, but more offensive, and responsible for a bit more suffering. I am rather impressed that he apologized at all. The facts as admitted demonstrate that he is unqualified to lead a bunch of lemmings off a cliff, much less a once-great American city. It’s sad that a mayor can proclaim his city a city of any particular color and not be shipped out of town. But that’s the double-standard. If Bill Purcell had said Nashville ought to be a white city, he would be crucified from here to the end of time, and rightly so. Nagin is a disgrace – I hope enough people realize it.

Nashville is one of 31 cities that has been asked to submit a proposal to host the Republican National Convention in 2008. Oh, how my fellow bloggers of the area are already shaking with anticipation. I wouldn’t get too excited yet … Memphis was also asked to submit a bid.

Can Nashville really handle an event of this magnitude? Unfortunately, I don’t think we can at this point. Requirements include a convention arena that can seat at least 20, 500 people and have room for 5,500 delegates on the floor. Security must be paid for by the host city. Good luck getting our 40-member Metro Council to agree on that one! And, we would need to have 20,000 hotel rooms ready.

This opportunity does add another dynamic to the debate over whether or not we need a new convention center. I vote “Yes”!

Lost in the hoopla over Islamic animation and Dick Cheney’s hunting accident is this interesting little tidbit

In a little-noticed news item the same week as the riots, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accepted an invitation to visit Cuba in September to show gratitude for Castro’s support of Iran’s nuclear program. A few days earlier, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria had voted against the International Atomic Energy Agency’s resolution to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear program.

It is gratifying to see rogue states engaged in a group hug choreographed around the shared goal of bringing the United States to its knees, while sane nations busy themselves with debates about the ethics of publishing political cartoons.

While the Cuba visit itself may be of little consequence, the invitation offers a reminder that our Cuban neighbor is ceaselessly working to pursue anti-American foreign policy. It also offers a heads-up that Iran’s nuclear aspirations may as well be Cuba’s.

The Soviet Union’s nuclear option vis-a-vis Nikita Khrushchev and a younger Fidel Castro seem suddenly quaint compared with the havoc that could result should Cuba and Iran consummate their mutual hatred of the United States.

Uh yeah, Cuba has had a penchant for obtaining nuclear strike power against the United States. A rather legendary Democratic president was confronted with that problem, if I recall. I don’t recall that he backed down. But then again, that Democrat was for a strong defense and a low-tax economy (and was genuinely embarrassed when a tyrant kicked him around). The newer versions of Kennedy’s partisan are just as committed about their activism, but lack the nobility of pursuing freedom and economic opportunity. If Iran is set to provide Cuba with nuclear technology, that battle will be left to George W. Bush and his Republican successor.

As an aside, it remains clear that Castro is a hostile neighbor to the United States. This is yet another reason to stop that stupid “wet-foot, dry-foot” policy. All Cubans should be welcomed with open arms.

Bob Corker, Van Hilleary and a surrogate speaker for Ed Bryant all spoke at the Davidson County Republican Party membership meeting tonight. All did well, especially Corker, who very clearly communicated his candidacy. Van seemed to meander a bit, and if you didn’t know better based on what he said about their mutual similarities, you would think that he and Ed found each other on eHarmony. The surrogate speaker for Ed Bryant was less than impressive (Ed had a good reason to be absent as a close friend recently passed away). I also had the pleasure of meeting Charles Badger, who is the writer of Van Wagon.

It was Catherine’s first political event, and she was a hit (and delightfully quiet until she started to get hungry). With such an excellent showing, finding babysitters will not be a problem.

The sleep deprivation that new parents experience is no joke! I had been warned by friends and read about it in books, but I needed to feel the exhaustion myself to understand. I feel like I’m walking through a fog most of the day. I believe that Catherine is suffering from the opposite affliction, as she is sleeping next to me on the couch right now. This is her favorite activity … during the day at least. She’s ready to party at night!

My lack of rest has certainly affected my postings. I have started quite a few entries just to close the site before posting them. I finally feel today that I can string together a few words that are multisyllabic, but my grip on sanity is still tenuous at best.

I love my daughter, but I am excited for that magic moment when she decides to sleep through the night! She’s only 17 days old, so I must be patient.